Nikon D80

[Master Mason]

I HATED it from the beginning. It was silver - not at all what I thought was a "real" camera. It was smaller than the D80 which felt inadequate in my hands. I was almost embarrassed to carry it. I actually carried my little 800is point and shoot more. I felt like I had been "sold" the xti when what I wanted was the D80.

I would say your experience with the XT was doomed from the very begining since you wanted the D80.

Mine is silver, I wanted black, but at the time I got the silver almost a 100 bucks cheaper, and for 100 bucks I can certainly carry a silver camera over black. But that was my choice.

I still say that comaparing the XT to the D80 is not an even comparison. The products don't line up evenly.

But let this be a lesson to everyone, never be "sold" on a camera by anyone but yourself, as your the one that will be using it.

 

[photo_chick]

But let this be a lesson to everyone, never be "sold" on a camera by anyone but yourself, as your the one that will be using it.

Amen! The right camera for me might not be the right camera for someone else. Getting advice is one thing, but take the time to find the right one for you.

 

[brack]

But let this be a lesson to everyone, never be "sold" on a camera by anyone but yourself, as your the one that will be using it.

 

[joellyn23]

I bought the D80 with 2 Tamron lenses (Zoom Telephoto AF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD Macro Autofocus Lens for Nikon AF-D and AF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6).

I pretty much always have the larger lens on as I mostly take photos at my children's soccer games.

I saw that there is a 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens made by Tamron. I really like this idea because I shouldn't have to change my lens for my purposes.

(Again -- I'm a complete novice -- I love the image quality of the D80, but I only use the automatic settings - I don't really know much about photography in general)

I'm confused by the Di LD vs LD. Is it worth it to spend an additional $400 for the new lens (or $189 to get the 70-300mm Di lens vs my 75-300mm LD lens).

Does this make any sense or am I confusing you too?

Thanks, in advance, for any input.

 

[handicap18]

The problem with going to the 1 lens does it all thing, is that you lose a lot of different things to gain the convenience. For example, the quality of the lens isn't quite as good and its also slower, espeically at the long end. The 28-300 is an f/3.5-6.3 which means that its widest aperture is f/3.5, but only at the 28mm end and maybe to about 40mm. f/3.5 isn't to bad, however, the f/6.3 at the long end is very small. That will probably be from about 220mm or so to 300mm. It 1/3 of a stop smaller than the 75-300mm f/4-5.6 at the 300mm end. For both lenses I would say that f/4 around 75mm is probably the same. (f/# tells you the size of the hole in the lens that lets light in, works like the pupil of your eye. The bigger the hole {since the numbers are fractions, the small the number, ie: 1/5.6 is bigger than 1/6.3} the more light is let in and will allow for a faster shutter speed. Faster shutter speed means being able to get more of a stop in the action instead of slight blur's of the legs and/or arms of the players.) This is why you see the camera people at sporting events with those BIG HUGE lenses. They have a bigger hole, therefor needing the lens to be big to accomodate that size hole. Many of them may be the same 300mm length, but their f/number is probably f/2.8 compared to the f/5.6. That is a HUGE difference in size. Kind of like comparing the size of a 1/2 dollar to a dime.

Typically the 1 lens does it all lens will be slower to auto focus and may hunt for a focus more often than a smaller range lens. Thus you may lose more shots.

I wouldn't worry to much about the XR Di LD stuff.

If anything you'd be better off saving a bit more and getting the Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR lens. It is very sharp, focus' very quick and has the added bonus of VR (Vibration Reduction). What the VR will do in your shooting scenerio is help keep the lens still, not getting extra blur from camera shake. That is the biggest reason I bought this lens. 1/2 my pics at the 300mm end were wasted because of camera shake. Holding a camera steady at the 300mm isn't all that easy. VR makes it much easier.

This may be a bit more information that you wanted, so I hope I didn't confuse you any further.

Keep asking questions. We'll help as best we can.

 

[Ratpack]

Well, I knew there was a reason I love DW. While at the beach this weekend, she said she wanted to use the D50 more and perhaps we should just get me another camera so we each have one. Thanks dear!!! So my question is, do I get the D80 or spend more and get the D200? The D50 has been great and I haven't even come close to using it's full potential so I am leaning towards the D80 for price, but I hate to buy it and then realize the D200 would have been a better choice. Help me decide please!!!

 

[tinksdad]

I use the D200 and it's quite the camera!! Lots of features that I will "grow into" as I hone my skills as a photographer. The D80 wasn't out yet, and I choose the D200 since it was almost as capable as the pro D2X but less than a third of the price.

If your comfortable using the D50 then the D80 wouldn't be a huge difference in handling and features, but will still have lots to challenge you!

check out the D80


check out the D200

 

[DebºoºS]

I use the D200. It's great!!!! I have older Nikon SLR lenses that I'm now able to use once again. It has so many neat features that I'm still learning. The Bert Sirkin cheatsheet helps as a quick reference.The other day I was reading it before the LK show started & a man leaned over to say "wow that's complicated" LOL There's a learning curve but you're already a Nikon DSLR owner so the jump will be easy for you.
Either way you'll be getting a quality camera with years of enjoyment and super pics. Good luck with your decision

posting from hot hot hot WDW

 

[Furgus]

Just a small note, the D80 and the D50 both use SD cards, and the D200 uses CF cards. Not a huge deal cause memory is so cheap, but just something look into.

 

[AZ JazzyJ]

How did that old saying go? "You can have my D200 when you pry it out of my cold dead fingers" or something like that.

Jeff

 

[tinksdad]

How did that old saying go? "You can have my D200 when you pry it out of my cold dead fingers" or something like that.

Jeff

Actually, I was thinking more like: "You can have my D200 when you give me a DX3!!"

 

[handicap18]

Its really going to depend on your needs. The D80 is a great camera. Great image quality and great features. The D200 is more camera. Great image quality and even move features.

For me personally, my next upgrade from my D50 will be some sort of D200 evolved body 5 or so years down the road. The biggest difference for me is the D200's 5 fpc vs the 3 fps on the D80 (only 2.5 fps on the D50). My kids are starting to ge more active and I also like to attend a lot of summer league baseball games.

There are a few threads about upgrading from a D50 to a D200 over at nikonians.org. Check the forum area and go under D100/D200 Users Group.

Also those that posted there that had already owned a D50 or D80 said the learning curve up to the D200 wasn't very steep.

 

[El Nebuloso]

The only thing I can say here is that if you are comfortable with operating in the more manual modes then go for the D200, as it doesn't provide a fully automatic mode. Personally I am planning to (eventually) replace my beloved D50 with the next generation D200.

 

[fitzperry]

My primary beef with the D70 has always been noise, and I've read rave reviews about the D80's noise control. I do prefer to shoot in natural light whenever possible, so the ability to use higher ISO's, which I avoid now, would be really nice. But is it that much better?

The higher megapixel count is pretty insignificant to me, as are most of the other differences between the two cameras--there are a few features I think would be nice but not sufficient by themselves to cause me to spend that much money.

What do y'all think?

 

[handicap18]

I have a friend who upgraded from a D70s to a D80 late last year. He really likes the D80. It does have much better noise control over the D70, not quite as good as the D50, but it does have higher MP's and pretty much the same features as the D70. The 2.5" LCD is HUGE compared to the 1.8" on the D70. Image Quality has gotten very good reviews on the D80. The only real drawback is that the D80 takes SD cards vs Compact Flash on the D70 so you will have to get a few new cards, though SD cards are less expensive than CF. $20-25 for a 2GB SD card.

 

[Steve's Girl]

I have the D80 and have been very happy with it. But, since I have never used a D70, I can't say whether or not the upgrade would be worth it based solely on noise control. I think I would consider a faster lens first before upgrading the body. Tamron and Sigma have some very nice lenses that are 2.8 throughout the whole range and they are priced pretty reasonably in comparison to a new camera body. I also use Noiseware on anything above ISO 800 and that really helps, too.

 

[fitzperry]

It does have much better noise control over the D70, not quite as good as the D50, but it does have higher MP's and pretty much the same features as the D70. The 2.5" LCD is HUGE compared to the 1.8" on the D70. Image Quality has gotten very good reviews on the D80.

Why is the D50 still better wrt noise? I thought they were the same sensor. That big lcd is really cool.

The only real drawback is that the D80 takes SD cards vs Compact Flash on the D70 so you will have to get a few new cards, though SD cards are less expensive than CF. $20-25 for a 2GB SD card.

I'd just swipe them from dh. He seems to have a huge collection.

 

[fitzperry]

I have the D80 and have been very happy with it. But, since I have never used a D70, I can't say whether or not the upgrade would be worth it based solely on noise control. I think I would consider a faster lens first before upgrading the body. Tamron and Sigma have some very nice lenses that are 2.8 throughout the whole range and they are priced pretty reasonably in comparison to a new camera body. I also use Noiseware on anything above ISO 800 and that really helps, too.

That's exactly the other option I was considering, although if I buy a new body I'll sell the old one on eBay (I'd probably get the D80 with the 18-135 and sell my D70 and 18-70--that kit seems to be selling in the $500-$600 range right now). I'll have to do a little shopping and try to figure out which makes more sense. I'm in no hurry.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[handicap18]

Why is the D50 still better wrt noise? I thought they were the same sensor. That big lcd is really cool.

The D50 is only fitting 6.1MP onto the sensor while the D80 is fitting 10MP onto the sensor. Same size more pixels will lead to more noise. Though the sensor used with the D80 does handle the 10MP very well. Nikon is actually using a different sensor now. I forget which company is making them. But the technology for the 10MP is very good.

The D70/70s and the D50 are all 6.1MP, but the D50 uses newer technology, thus better higher ISO performance. The D50 and the D40 share the same sensor. The D40x and the D80 I believe have the same sensor, but the D40x has newer technology and handles the higher ISO just a bit better. Though I would not get a D40x for the AF issues.

Your really not going to notice the issue unless you take a night shot at 1600ISO and enlarge it over 8x10 or higher. I do know from reviews I've read that the D80 handles the higher ISO's better than the D70/70s.

 

[fitzperry]

The D80 also does some in camera noise reduction that seems pretty cool.

Kyle, do you (or anyone else) have any guess as to when Nikon will replace the D80? It seems to be sort of a gamble in terms of getting the most for your money. When the next model comes out the value of the D70 will presumably drop, so it will cost me more to upgrade. Hmmmm. . . .